White House spars with MTG after she conditions funding vote on Biden impeachment

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia says she won’t vote to fund the government unless there is an impeachment inquiry of President Biden, sparking immediate condemnation from the White House.

The Republican lawmaker told constituents that Congress must also defund special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of former President Donald Trump and special counsel David Weiss’ inquiry into the president’s son Hunter Biden. Also, she will not vote for a spending bill that authorizes COVID-19 mandates or new funding for Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion.

“I will not fund those things, and I thought it was most important to tell you all first — because I work for you,” she told a town hall meeting in Floyd County.

The White House pounced on the comments late Thursday.

The administration outlined the potential consequences of a government shutdown and said Mr. Biden worked with House Republican leaders to set parameters for spending, so the GOP majority should think twice before accepting Ms. Greene’s demands.

“The last thing the American people deserve is for extreme House members to trigger a government shutdown that hurts our economy, undermines our disaster preparedness, and forces our troops to work without guaranteed pay,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said.

“The House Republicans responsible for keeping the government open already made a promise to the American public about government funding, and it would be a shame for them to break their word and fail the country because they caved to the hardcore fringe of their party in prioritizing a baseless impeachment stunt over high stakes needs Americans care about deeply — like fighting fentanyl trafficking, protecting our national security, and funding FEMA,” he said.

Both sides ramped up their rhetoric as Washington faces a Sept. 30 deadline to pass a stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government open.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to mollify the right flank of his party, which could hold enough votes to disrupt a spending bill unless it gets the concessions it wants.

The spending effort and GOP desires to launch an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden over his son’s overseas business deals are becoming intertwined. 

Mr. McCarthy has said he is open to an inquiry, stopping short of actual impeachment, and warned his troops that failing to fund the government would impede their Biden probes.

“If we shut down, all the government shuts it down — investigation and everything else,” Mr. McCarthy told Fox News on Sunday “It hurts the American public.”